Lantean Cetaceans
by ShipperWriter
Summary: A member of Atlantis tells Elizabeth about the whales on their planet. Future!fic, defintely after S5, AU.


I don't know where this came from, but it's cute and fluffy … And has whales. And Sparky. Hope you like it!

* * *

There was a knock at the door, the first interruption after lunch.

"Hey, do you have a minute?" a voice asked, not detecting the groan that the leader was trying to suppress.

Dr. Elizabeth Weir looked up from a rather difficult game of Solitaire. "Sure," she replied, a frown starting to crease her face.

The eccentric haired man in front of her smirked as he entered the glass walled office. _Not a good sign_, she told herself. "What can I do for you?" she asked, closing her laptop.

"Remember the two whales that appeared on our sensors about eleven months ago?"

"Vaguely."

"You know, the ones that Rodney tried to name?"

"Ah. Yes, continue."

"Well, I've been studying them for a while. I even managed to dive a jumper down about eight hundred feet." He gently sat a tablet computer on her desk as he eased himself into the chair, just as he had done a thousand times before.

Elizabeth stared at him, waiting expectantly. "And?"

"I've been able to determine that they're married," he announced proudly.

She wanted to laugh. No, she wanted to fall out of her chair and roll on the floor, shrieking. The sensible adult in her knew that the idea of whales being married was childish, to say the least. Forcing a gentle smile, she clarified, "You mean that they are mates?"

He raised his eyebrows innocently. "Isn't that what I just said?"

She couldn't hold in a snort after hearing that. No matter how long she had known him, sometimes he would still say the most unpredictable things. But instead of arguing on the technicality, she conceded the point with a firm nod and looked at the tablet that he had earlier placed on the desk top. "And what, may I ask, Mr. Sheppard, leads you to that conclusion? If I recall correctly, whales don't mate for life."

"Well, Doctor," he began, a crap eating grin plastered on his face, "a few weeks after we first saw them, when winter set in, they - uh, _mated_." Elizabeth could tell that he was having a hard time saying that word instead of whatever colorful terminology he had in mind.

"I see."

"And these whales are very similar to humpback whales, so I used them as a basis for comparison. Normally, the males try and beat the crap out of each other to mate with the female in the pod. However, when this particular male approached the female and started singing, the rest of the males withdrew. It was like they knew she was taken."

Elizabeth leaned back in her chair, actually interested in his pseudo report. "So these two whales that are apparently lifelong mates mated, and the other whales backed away. Do you have an idea of how old they are?"

He shook his head, but scooted the tablet towards her. "There are a few visuals on here, including some stills I took and the sensor readings."

Elizabeth nodded as she processed the information. "I have to say, I'm impressed. You've pointed out a good hypothesis, collected the data, and recorded your observations. Well done."

The young man glared at her. "Mom, if I wanted to be patronized, I would've told all this to Rodney."

She laughed, then smiled back at her nineteen year old son. "Sorry, Jack, I wasn't trying to make light of your research. But, if I may ask, what brought this on?"

"Well, Torren, Natalie and I were out on the West Pier last week when we saw one of the whales surface. Just after that, another one came up for air. Then they started, well, for lack of a better word, dancing."

"Dancing."

"You know, like, their mating dance, trying to impress the female?"

"Sure."

Jack rolled his eyes, starting to get a little exasperated trying to explain this. His mother subconsciously hoped that her son was beginning to understand how they felt when Rodney started babbling. "Okay, maybe dancing isn't the right word. They just came up and started breaching, when they jump out of the water and make a big splash?"

"And you decided to keep an eye on them?"

He shrugged. "Well, not exactly. I came to the control room and checked the sensors. There was a third life form in the vicinity."

"Another whale?"

He beamed at her. "A calf. She had just given birth and was showing off the baby to Atlantis."

She grinned back at him. "That's very neat, Jack. Are they still in the area, or have they already started migrating?"

He shook his head. "Um, no, they've left. They're still on sensor range, though, and that reminds me about something else I found." He took the tablet back and began tapping through the pictures. "The mother and calf usually form a very close relationship during the first year, when the calf is nursing and completely dependant on Mom. Normally, the male will leave and either go solo or mate with another."

She glanced back up at him from the pictures. "But you said they seem to be mates?"

"Yeah." Having found the picture that he was looking for, he turned the tablet back around and placed it on the desk, facing her. "The male is swimming slightly in front of her, keeping on the lookout for any danger. Although, considering that they're the largest creature in the ocean here, I don't think that's an issue."

Elizabeth cupped her cheek with her hand. In a soft voice that was almost indiscernible, she murmured, "It's the thought that counts."

Jack chuckled. "Um, there was one other thing I wanted to mention. I might have already named them."

"Why?" she asked, a tad on the sharp side just so she would be able to tell Rodney that she tried to fight him on the subject.

"Well, because they've hung around Atlantis, and he's so immensely loyal to her, and he's not leaving her side. Even if a better looking cow comes his way. She knows that she can depend on him."

Elizabeth smirked. "You are your father's son."

He nodded proudly, then started to walk out, informing her, "I have a training session with Colonel Lorne. Firearms."

"Hasn't your father trained you enough?" she asked, sarcasm dripping.

He smiled and passed the threshold leading to the control room.

"Hey, Jack, hold on just a second."

His hand reached out to grab the door frame, spinning him around. "Yeah?"

"What _did_ you name them?"

He smirked, a perfect reflection of his father. "Check the last two pictures. You'll see," he told her, walking away.

She raised her eyebrows in resignation. "All right, if you say so," she muttered, searching until the final photos appeared.

First, the newborn calf greeted her. The tag in the corner read, _Atlantis._

"How original," she told herself.

The last picture, however, took her by surprise. She surmised he must have taken it before the cow gave birth. The two of them were swimming next to each other, the male slightly in front, seeming to be on guard. The female, following along but still powerful, almost appeared tranquil, possibly at the unknown human knowledge that her steadfast mate would never leave her.

The frame faded and she touched the screen, forcing it to reappear.

In the corner were the words, _John and Elizabeth_.

* * *

Fin.


End file.
